- “A unique series of toy figurines”
- ―Toy Soldiers box description
The Toy Soldiers (also referred to as Tin Soldiers) are supporting antagonists featured in the 2018 Disney film The Nutcracker and the Four Realms. They are an army of toy soldiers used by the evil Sugar Plum Fairy brought to life via Engine serving as her henchmen in a plan to take over the Four Realms.
Background[]
Originally inanimate objects, these tin soldiers are included in a box set of individual toy soldiers contained in them. When the Engine is used to bring the toy soldiers to life, they become life-sized toy soldiers being capable of moving by themselves often obeying the Sugar Plum Fairy's commands, which Phillip believed that they are made of hollow. Although they do not speak, they are capable of understanding Sugar Plum's orders as part of her plans to take over the Four Realms. They are an all-male army of toy soldiers and all of them wear blue uniforms and each have a mustache on them. While Clara thought the army was to defend the Four Realms, it was later found out that Sugar Plum was only trying to invade the Realms. The weapons the toy soldiers are equipped with are swords, which they use in battle against their enemies.
In addition to the ones equipped with swords, some of them are also equipped with drums so they can sound the drums of war. In spite of following orders, the toy soldiers can occasionally become distracted from other situations such as when Clara winds up clockwork mice as well as hearing other noises, often trying to search for the source of the sound. Ever since the Sugar Plum Fairy was turned into a lifeless porcelain doll, all the toy soldiers revert to their lifeless forms, leaving them disabled.
Origins[]
The Toy Soldiers are based on the characters of the same name from the story by E.T.A. Hoffman and the ballet by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. In the original story, they aid the Nutcracker who support him serving as recurring characters throughout the ballet serving as supporting characters in the story.
Yet in the Disney film, the toy soldiers are portrayed differently than in the ballet, serving as enemies to the heroes rather than allies aiding the Sugar Plum Fairy in this adaptation.
Role in the film[]
In a plan for the Sugar Plum Fairy to take over the Four Realms using the Engine, she asks the soldiers to send an army of toy soldiers, which Phillip thinks she has no idea of how the toy soldiers will behave, Clara thinks that Sugar Plum would protect the Realms while another guard deploys the box of toy soldiers onto a platform while Sugar Plum uses the Engine to bring the toy soldiers to life, growing into life-sized toy soldiers. Sugar Plum commands the toy soldiers to march to the Fourth Realm, which Clara thought the army would defend her, only to find out that the Sugar Plum Fairy betrayed the heroes, including the inhabitants of the Fourth Realm. Sugar Plum sends the toy soldiers to seize Clara, only for her to be defended by Phillip who calls her a traitor as Clara finds out that the Sugar Plum Fairy lied to her just before the latter sends the guards to take Clara and Phillip away.
Meanwhile, the army of toy soldiers continue marching towards the Fourth Realm while more toy soldiers are in the process of being summoned to battle. As Clara and Phillip see the assembled soldiers, Clara decides to return to the Engine Room to stop the army from destroying the Fourth Realm just as the toy soldiers continue marching outside the Palace of the Four Realms to proceed to the Fourth Realm while the Mouse King helps Clara and Phillip find a way into to escape. While Phillip warns Mother Ginger about the toy soldiers about to conquer all the Realms, Clara sneaks into the Engine Room without getting caught, where she sees more toy soldiers in the process of being assembled to make the army larger while Clara spots a box of clockwork mice to distract the soldiers. As the drawbridge of the Palace lowers, the Polichinelles appear and confront the toy soldiers, as they roll towards the army as the soldiers are equipped with swords to fight back, knocking out various marching soldiers. Sugar Plum tells them to go after Mother Ginger and not the clowns they are fighting against.
Back at the Engine Room, Clara activates clockwork mice, causing them to move around the room, distracting the soldiers who attempt to hit the mice with their swords, but they miss. Back at the Fourth Realm, more toy soldiers march towards the giant automaton of Mother Ginger protecting itself from the army while Clara sees a step leading towards the Engine. The toy soldiers suddenly hear clattering as they go after Clara, just as she finds out that she is surrounded by the soldiers. Clara confronts them in combat so that she can reach the Engine to stop the army from conquering the Realms. Back again with Mother Ginger, the toy soldiers reach the giant automaton of Mother Ginger, toppling it down just before Sugar Plum confronts Phillip, asking her where Mother Ginger is (it was later found that that Mother Ginger is in the Engine Room, not in the Fourth Realm).
At the Engine Room, Mother Ginger defends Clara from the toy soldiers using her whip to fight off the enemies while Phillip takes on more soldiers in the Fourth Realm. While Mother Ginger takes on more incoming soldiers, Clara reaches the Engine in a plan to disable the machine just before she pushes away the soldier trying to attack her. Back at the Fourth Realm, Phillip and the Mouse King (who transforms into a giant creature made out of mice) fight off more soldiers in a plan for them to escape the Fourth Realm while Sugar Plum captures Mother Ginger who was fighting off more soldiers in the Engine Room, causing her to be held hostage by the soldiers. Later, the Mouse King leaps on three soldiers, causing them to hit each other with the Mouse King landing on their heads. As the soldiers plan to place Mother Ginger on the platform in a plan for her to be turned into a toy, Clara defends Mother Ginger in battle just as she halts the attack, furious of Sugar Plum's plans of trying to destroy Marie's legacy just as the other soldiers in the Fourth Realm continue fighting against Phillip and the Mouse King. Later, when the Engine turns the Sugar Plum Fairy into a lifeless porcelain doll, all the remaining toy soldiers revert to their lifeless forms (albeit still in full-sized), just as the battle ends while Phillip and the Mouse King celebrate their victory and later Mother Ginger praising Clara for being a heroine.
Trivia[]
- In both the original story and the ballet, the toy soldiers were allies of the protagonists while the mice were antagonists with the Mouse King being the villain. In the 2018 Disney adaptation, the toy soldiers were supporting antagonists aiding the Sugar Plum Fairy (the Mouse King is an ally instead in the Disney film adaptation, who, in turn, was an antagonist in the original story and in the ballet).
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